The Creative Rollercoaster
On a scale from change-averse to forever moving on, where do you put yourself?
This question of being comfortable with change was an on-again, off-again conversation between me and several of my fellow creatives recently. We tentatively concluded that most people avoid change, however, with passionate of creatives, it’s almost a way of life. But, we wonder… is this a condition of the creative mind, or is it because living a creative life is such a roller coaster of uncertainty?
The jury is still out over here although there was a consensus that living a creative life requires being open to change, whether or not you’re comfortable with it. We did figure out that I’m a bit of a weirdo as I get quite antsy and almost fearful when things stay the same. It’s not that I’m adverse to constancy or have problems committing, I’m just afraid that if I settle or become content, the things I am in awe of right now will become ordinary and unappreciated, that my world will feel banal.
I don’t think my penchant for change is behind my 2021 decision to make my own creative work my main priority for the first time in 10 years but it might explain why I have thrown myself into it with such fervor. Mind you, there was some hesitation. After a decade of running Tenth Muse Arts, my art centric publication company, and almost 2 decades of freelance nonfiction writing, I am returning to fiction and artwork with no foreseeable income coming from either activity. Eeks!
Actually, I did plan for this. Money has been saved, belts have been tightened, and now, the train is ready to leave left the station, to chug uphill in a slow and arduous climb as I shake the rust from my wrists and take on one of the few forms of authoring I have not yet attempted in my long writing career—a novel. Well, two actually. Or four if you could the fact that one is the first in a trilogy.
For those of you who know me, it won’t surprise you to hear that I’m taking on this venture quite earnestly. I am putting myself through a self-prescribed intense course on the craft of novels interspersed with short periods of world building, character building, and plot notes based on ideas gleaned from my studies. My audiobook players are stacked with every well-reviewed audiobook on the craft so I can continue my research as I cook dinner, fold laundry, and rearrange my studio space. I joined a local writer’s group and co-created another one online. All other business and writing jobs have been relegated to the last three hours of my day. It has gotten quite intense!
This very website is one of the necessary steps in my plans as well, being key to an online presence and future social media plans. It is also an outlet for one of my other principal passions—teaching. Having some way to teach what I know and what I am learning serves two very important purposes.
For one, both writing and creating art are isolating professions, but finding a way to connect ouside that time can be very helpful if not energizing. For me , I want that to be through sharing, teaching, and connecting with other creative minds. This also makes me feel like I am doing something useful in the present while I toil away on books that may not be seen for a year or more.
As I see it now, this blog will be a major part of that step in my plans. I won’t always be teaching from a place of absolute knowledge since this is a new adventure for me, but we learn from other people’s journeys as well as from their expertise, don’t we?
So, would you like to join me on this wild ride? Your companionship would be an honor. Sign up using the form at the top of this page to receive these articles by email. And if you are out there documenting your own creative journey, please let me know (click Contact above) so we can collectively trade our war stories and our wins.
Alright. It’s started. I can hear the clacking of the train car being pulled up the lift hill of this ride and I’m thinking there’s no way to get off now. The question is, did I get on It’s a Small World or Space Mountain? I am rather hoping for the latter!
